UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK
Standing Group Responsible for the Maintenance and Refurbishment of
Centrally Timetabled Rooms
Notes from the meeting of the Group held on Monday 22 September 2014
Present:
Dr J Gardner (Chair), Mr J Buckingham, R Burdick, Ms L Holland, Mr P Jones, Mrs E
Morrison, Mr J Owen, Mr H Rowles.
Apologies:
Mr D Mace, Mr C Singleton.
1/14-15
Minutes
REPORTED:
That the minutes from the meeting held on 10 March 2014 were approved by
circulation.
2/14-15
Door Signs - Centre for Lifelong Learning Building
REPORTED: (by the Chair)
(a) That she had taken action on behalf of the Group to approve spend of £74.88
from the Refurb Group Budget on new door signs for CTTR.
(by the Space Management Assistant)
(b) That the signs had been installed on Tuesday 16 September 2014.
RESOLVED:
That the Space Management Assistant would visit the rooms to check the installation
of the signs.
3/14-15
Blinds in WCE0.10 and WCE0.12, Westwood
REPORTED:
That the Chair had taken action on behalf of the Group to approve spend of £1445.76
from the Refurb Group budget on replacing blinds in WCE0.10 and WCE0.12,
Westwood.
4/14-15
New visualisers for Lib1, Lib2 and S0.17
REPORTED:
That the Chair had taken action on behalf of the Group to approve spend of £5716.80
to purchase three new visualisers for Lib1, Lib2 and S0.17.
5/14-15
Blind for B3.01, Zeeman
REPORTED:
That the Chair had taken action on behalf of the Group to approve spend of £228 on a
new blind for B3.01, Zeeman.
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6/14-15
Nosings in Woods-Scawen Room
REPORTED: (by the Chair)
(a) That the Chair had taken action on behalf of the Group to approve spend of
£6,175 plus VAT to allow the remedial works required on the carpet ledges in
Woods-Scawen to take place, noting that the date of the works was still to be
confirmed.
(by the Interior Design, Furniture & Equipment Manager)
(b) That the work had not yet been fully carried out, noting that half of the old
nosings had been removed to date.
RESOLVED:
That the Interior Design, Furniture & Equipment Manager would arrange a suitable
date with the Conferences Senior Duty Manager and the Conferences General
Commercial Manager to complete the work.
7/14-15
Campus Walkaround
REPORTED: (by the Chair)
That the annual CTTR Walkaround would take place on Friday 26 September, noting
that this will be done by the Space Management Assistant and Senior Conference
Assistant.
8/14-15
Comments from the Annual Accommodation Round 2013-14 on Centrally Timetabled
Teaching Rooms
REPORTED:
(a) That the following comments on Centrally Timetabled Teaching Rooms received
during the Annual Accommodation Round 2013-14 were considered by
circulation:
(i)
General quality of F10.7, F1.11, F1.10 (Engineering):
F107, F111 and F110 are all very poor quality teaching space requiring
major refurbishment or decommissioning for alternate use. They are dated
and are not helping the student experience. If decommissioned as centrally
timetables space the School could make very effective use of the space by
providing a very clear and immediately obvious student focused support
facility ( e.g. additional teaching laboratories, IT suite and support for
student visitor enquiries) in addition to providing an ‘engineering
environment’ at the entrance to the School.
(ii)
Suitability of PS1.28 (Physics):
Our main concern is for good consultation on any refurbishments - we are
mindful that some past ones have proved retrograde for our
teaching. Similar caution applies to new teaching build.
PS1.28 is inappropriate in the middle of an academic building. We look
forward to it being put to other use. We would recommend its use as a
student work area, allowing us to release space for 4 large offices when the
current work area moves.
(iii) Noise in L5 and B2.02 (CAL):
Staff have commented that teaching in the Engineering block L5 can be
very challenging at times due to the excessive noise of what seems to be a
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generator – students have complained that they cannot hear. Similar
problems were reported in B2.02
(iv) Acoustic issues in WT1.04/05 when used as one large teaching room
(CES):
Our students have reported problems with WT1.04/05 in terms of the
acoustics. When the room is used as one large room it can be difficult for
students to hear lecturers, even when the microphone is used.
(b) That the following comments on furniture in the Centrally Timetabled Teaching
Rooms received during the Annual Accommodation Round 2013-14 were
considered by circulation:
(i)
Classics commented that the ‘blinds need improving in H5.45 as light
interferes with projection’;
(ii)
History commented that the ‘blinds are broken’ in H0.01 and H0.03 and that
the curtains don’t work correctly in H4.02;
(iii) The Centre for Lifelong Learning commented that “The tables in rooms
WCE0.10 and WCE0.12 are a mixture of sizes and very dated and there are
many more tables than the room capacity, making them cramped. Both of
these rooms are in frequent use by the FD in Counselling, which requires
tables that can easily be moved out of the way. The tilt-top, wheeled tables
as per WCE0.9b are ideal for this.”
(c) That following correspondence with the Centre for Lifelong Learning
regarding their comments on WCE0.10 and WCE0.12, the Centre has
agreed to wait until CTTR refurbishment priorities are established for 201415.
9/14-15
Refurb Group Budgets
CONSIDERED:
(a) A final summary of the budget position for the financial year 2013- 2014
(CTTR.1/14-15);
(b) A draft summary of the current budget position for the present financial year
2014-2015 (CTTR.2/14-15).
REPORTED: (by the Chair)
(a) That she was in conversation with Estates to get access to OPeRA to make it
easier to track orders placed against the CTTR refurbishment budget cost codes;
(b) That at Easter a new budget code was introduced to separate AV expenditure
from non-AV expenditure;
(c) That the CTTR Refurb Programme Group met last week and discussed the
budget for A0.23, noting that this had increased from the original £226k in
recognition of the additional sum spent on lighting;
(d) That at the meeting of the CTTR Refurb Programme Group last week, it was
agreed with the Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Academic Planning and Resources) and
Director of Management Information and Planning that the work of the CTTR
Refurb Programme Group be reabsorbed into this Standing Group once the
refurbishment of A0.23 was complete;
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(e) That the architect for the refurbishment of A0.23, BGS, had provided four colour
schemes for the refurbishment which could be used to inform future
refurbishment plans.
(by the Interior Design, Furniture & Equipment Manager)
(f)
That she uses a common thread of “CTTR” in the short text to clearly identify
orders.
(g) That only the first 30 characters of the description in OPeRA are transferred to
SAP and that orders must be amended on both OPeRA and SAP once they are
made to facilitate monitoring the budget;
(h) That if more colours were included in the colour schemes, this reduced the
likelihood of having replacement items in stock and would therefore increase the
delay in replacing broken items.
(by the Lead Technical Specialist)
(i)
That if the chairs were kept in a neutral colour the colours of the walls could be
changed and this would allow for a stock of replacements to be maintained.
RESOLVED:
(a) That any future orders relating to the refurbishment of CTTRs include “CTTR”
and a room number in the first 30 characters of the description in OPeRA so that
these will transfer to SAP and be easily traceable for the budget;
(b) That the final summary of the budget position for the financial year 2013-2014
(CTTR.1/14-15) be approved;
(c) That the draft summary of the current budget position for the present financial
year 2014-2015 (CTTR.2/14-15) be approved.
10/14-15
Warwick Arts Centre Cinema Refurbishment (minute 44/13-14 refers)
RECEIVED:
An oral update from the Chair regarding the refurbishment of the Arts Centre Cinema.
REPORTED: (by the Chair)
(a) That the Registrar and Group Finance Director had agreed that the budget for
the refurbishment of the cinema to allow for its use as a CTTR should be
attributed to the Refurb Group budget, noting that this included provision for the
refurbishment of the seating in the cinema next year;
(b) That the lighting was not quite as requested;
(by the Estates Project Manager)
(c) That the fittings would be installed by the end of next week and it would be ready
to hand over;
(d) That as a result of a problem with the ceiling and walls, the lighting that has been
installed was the best option available;
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(by the Lead Technical Specialist)
(e) That training was being provided for the AV equipment installed;
(f)
That the equipment was the same as equipment installed in a lecture theatre but
that there was a freestanding table instead of a lectern.
RESOLVED:
(a) That the Interior Design, Furniture & Equipment Manager arrange a suitable date
with the Conferences Senior Duty Manager to refurbish the seating in the cinema
next year;
(b) That colleagues from the lighting team be involved earlier in the development of
refurbishment plans to ensure that delays experienced in previous projects do not
recur.
(c) That the Space Management Assistant update the information about the AV in
the cinema on the website.
11/14-15
Progress of Refurbishment of A0.23
RECEIVED:
An oral update from the Chair regarding the progress of refurbishment of A0.23.
REPORTED: (by the Chair)
(a) That issues with lighting had caused a delay of a week, noting that teaching had
been rescheduled in other CTTRs and the completion date was now 24 October
2014;
(b) That a launch event was being organised with the Lead Technical Specialist to
demonstrate how the new teaching wall;
(c) That a wash-up meeting would be held towards the end of November/ beginning
of December to reflect on the refurbishment of A0.23.
(by the Interior Design, Furniture & Equipment Manager)
(d) That she had agreed to replace the carpets in the corridor around A0.14 due to
the nearby refurbishment of A0.23 and the lobby outside A0.23;
12/14-15
Plans for refurbishment of CTTRs in 2014-2015
RECEIVED:
An oral update from the Chair regarding the plans for refurbishment of CTTRs in
2014-15.
REPORTED: (by the Chair)
(a) That PLT has been identified as the showcase project for 2014-15, noting that
this is contingent on sufficient resources being available;
(b) That in order to aid decision-making on refurbishment in future years, it would be
helpful to identify and profile anticipated spend over the next five years;
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(by the Estates Project Manager)
(c) That the estimate for the cost of the refurbishment of PLT was high, since there
was a need either to replace the air-conditioning system, which might be
covered by Estates, or to improve the existing system;
(by the Interior Design, Furniture & Equipment Manager)
(d) That a lot of furniture had recently been replaced in Humanities and Social
Sciences CTTRs and there were no more refurbishments planned so any
expenditure would be mostly ad hoc repairs;
(e) That there may be cost implications from the planned Social Sciences moves in
Summer 2015, such as when changing a room from a CTTR to an LTTR;
(by the Lead Technical Specialist)
(f)
There are a lot of costs associated with converting a room into a teaching space
from an AV perspective.
RESOLVED:
(a) That the Lead Technical Specialist would confirm if all AV expenditure for this
year will be from the Refurb Group Budget;
(b) That the Lead Technical Specialist would profile the planned AV expenditure to
see how much needs to be spent this year and how much next year;
(c) That the Estates Project Manager would confirm whether Estates plan to replace
the air-conditioning system in PLT.
13/14-15
S0.50/51 Social Studies Building (minute 40/13-14 referred)
REPORTED: (by the Estates Project Manager)
(a) That the wall which was to be removed was a structural wall and an engineer
had been consulted to rectify the situation.
(b) That the contractor was confident the work would be completed by the first week
of October.
(c) That there was a delay while some slabs were tested for Asbestos and the
results were negative.
(d) That he had spoken to the contractor to discuss when AV can go in.
(by the Chair)
(e) That perhaps the structural drawings should be treated with greater caution in
future, since it should have been marked that there was a structural wall.
RESOLVED:
(a) That the Assistant Registrar would check when the room is timetabled to ensure
the works are completed;
(b) That the Estates Project Manager and the Lead Technical Specialist would agree
a date for the installation of the AV.
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14/14-15
Modification of the seating in one of the Humanities Lecture Theatres
CONSIDERED:
A proposal from Warwick Conferences to modify the seating in one of the Humanities
Lecture Theatres, by removing the last row of fixed chairs and replacing it with new
loose chairs which can be removed to provide more space for wheelchair users,
noting that a new framework would be installed which is not fixed to any chairs to
support fold-down tables.
REPORTED: (by the Conferences Senior Duty Manager)
(a) That Warwick Conferences had received a booking enquiry from the Open
University for a number of years and that the booking rested on having adequate
facilities for disabled users;
(b) That Warwick Conferences would provide the money for any seating changes
that are made to the lecture theatres;
(c) That having the loose seating at the back increased the flexibility of the room and
would allow space for approximately 6 wheelchairs.
(by the Interior Design, Furniture & Equipment Manager)
(d) That no capacity would be lost;
(e) That having loose chairs increased the chances of chairs going missing and
there was more potential for things to go wrong;
(f)
That the quote received only included the removal of the chairs and there would
be an additional cost to buy the new chairs for the back row.
RESOLVED:
That subject to confirmation from the Conferences Senior Duty Manager that the
booking was going to be made, the Group was supportive of the works taking place.
15/14-15
Induction Loop Problems in Ramphal Lecture Theatre
CONSIDERED:
Ongoing complaints received from people with hearing disabilities using the Ramphal
Lecture Theatre, noting that the installed loop is only audible from locations at the
back of the theatre.
REPORTED: (by the Conferences Senior Duty Manager)
(a) That the problem had recently been brought to their attention;
(b) That he believed the induction loop had previously been installed under the
carpet and was now installed in the ceiling but due to the height of the ceiling at
the front compared to the back the loop was only audible at the back;
(c) That the lift was quite often out of order which meant that people with a double
disability were not able to hear the lecture as they could only reach the front of
the lecture theatre.
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(by the Lead Technical Specialist)
(d) That there was no evidence the Induction Loop had previously been installed
under the carpet;
(e) That an IR system could be installed which required the user to wear a pendant
around their neck to pick up the audio;
(f)
That the other option was to install the induction loop system under the carpet as
in L3 and L4 but that this was costly as carpet and chairs would need to be
removed;
(g) That it could be more cost effective to hold a kit which could be deployed to
problem areas.
(by the Chair)
(h) That Induction Loops may need to be considered during the profiling of the
refurbishment budget.
(by the Interior Design, Furniture & Equipment Manager)
(i)
That the induction loop in Woods-Scawen and H0.52 would need to be checked
when chairs were removed as it currently ran along the framework.
RESOLVED:
(a) That the problem would be considered during the next refurbishment and a
temporary solution would be implemented in the interim;
(b) That the Lead Technical Specialist would survey CTTRs with induction loops and
report on the options and costs for installation to the next meeting;
(c) That the Conferences Senior Duty Manager would check what kit Warwick
Conferences already had available for induction loop users.
16/14-15
Dates of the Future Meetings
CONSIDERED:
The dates for future meetings of the Group.
RESOLVED:
That the group would return to monthly meetings which would be organised by the
Space Management Assistant.
17/14-15
Capacity of Social Sciences 9 and 10
REPORTED: (by the Conferences Senior Duty Manager)
That Conferences were advertising the capacity of Social Sciences 9 and 10 as 42
but that Timetabling was advertising the capacity as 35.
RESOLVED:
That the Space Management Assistant would check back through previous minutes to
see if the reduced capacity had been agreed and let colleagues know.
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